Department for Transport

Taxis: Electric Vehicles

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with the (a) Mayor of London and (b) representatives of London boroughs on accelerating the installation of rapid electric charging points for taxis.

Jesse Norman: DfT Ministers meet regularly with the Mayor of London and the Metro Mayors. New provisions have been included in the recently adopted Automated and Electric Vehicles Act to enable Metro Mayors, including the Mayor of London, to seek to require provision of chargepoints at large fuel retailers in their areas. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) is in regular contact with Transport for London (TfL) and Local Authorities, and works with them to accelerate the installation of rapid chargepoints for taxis and public use. OLEV officials work collaboratively on EV Infrastructure provision, as a member of the Mayor of London’s recently launched EV Infrastructure Taskforce, at which London boroughs are also represented. Government is providing £18m to TfL to install 300 rapid chargepoints, of which 90 are to be taxi dedicated. To date, 116 rapid chargepoints have been installed, of which 56 are taxi dedicated.

Bridges: English Channel

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2018 to Question 165618, what his Department’s policy is on the construction of a new fixed link between Britain and France.

Joseph Johnson: The department maintains a strategic overview of capacity utilisation across the rail network as part of long term planning.

Rolling Stock

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2018 to Question 163101 on Rolling Stock, if he will list the specific economic benefits.

Joseph Johnson: Passengers will benefit from improvements in rolling stock quality and capacity along with the wider benefits of the employment of many skilled workers dedicated to rolling stock manufacturing, maintenance, and refurbishment and across the industry supply chain.

Aviation: Compensation

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing into the airline industry a delay-repay scheme similar to that in the rail industry; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Strong levels of consumer protection are already in place for air passengers under EC Regulation 261/2004 which apply to delays, and the UK will not fall below current standards of protection when we leave the EU. As part of the Aviation Strategy, the Government plans to raise awareness and clarify the current compensation arrangements for air passengers in the event of delay, cancellation or denied boarding. The Department for Transport will publish its final Aviation Strategy in mid-2019.

Taxis: Licensing

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the report of the task and finish group on taxi and private hire vehicle licensing in September.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The report of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing will be published soon.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy: Hydrogen

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential for large-scale hydrogen conversion projects to support the UK to meet its de-carbonisation targets.

Claire Perry: The Government recognises the significant potential of hydrogen in meeting our long-term decarbonisation targets. We are currently undertaking work to strengthen and assess the evidence on the range of potential approaches to decarbonising heat, including the possibility of large scale conversion of the gas network to hydrogen, and will set out further detail on this work later this year. In support of this work we are investing in hydrogen innovation, with up to £65 million supporting projects addressing the fundamental challenges of large-scale hydrogen conversion, such as establishing the safety case and reducing production costs.

Innovation and Research

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 89 of the Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has launched the new international research and innovation strategy.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Holding answer received on 04 September 2018



Further to my response on 14 June 2018 to Question UIN 151204, we intend to publish the International Research and Innovation Strategy in autumn this year.

Retail Trade: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the retail sector in Coventry.

Kelly Tolhurst: The West Midlands Combined Authority has recently approved a grant of £98.8m towards the City Centre South scheme. This will be a major retail, leisure and residential development in Coventry City Centre. This builds on financial support offered by the British Business Bank, the Small Business Commissioner ensuring fair payment practices, and Local Growth Hubs offering advice and information, with Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub acting as the local contact to business. In addition, Government recently established a panel of experts, chaired by Sir John Timpson, to draw on their experience and expertise to diagnose the issues currently affecting our high streets, and advise on the best long-term approach. The panel, in conjunction with the Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Growth, will launch a call for evidence later this year looking at the future of our high streets. Government has also launched the 2018 Great British High Street Awards, which champion the hard work of local businesses and communities around the country who are determined to ensure that their high streets thrive.

Redundancy: Mental Health

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the effect of job loss on mental health and well-being; and if he will make a statement.

Kelly Tolhurst: BEIS Ministers and officials meet regularly with counterparts in DWP and DHSC to discuss issues around disability, work and health – including mental health – to pursue a joined up approach across Government. On 30 November 2017 the Government published ‘Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability’, which set out the actions that we are taking across the three key settings: the welfare system, workplace and health services. This report also provided the Government response to “Thriving at work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers”.

Industry

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what criteria his Department used to decide which areas would be chosen to work with the Government to develop their local industrial strategies.

Kelly Tolhurst: We have committed to work with all Local Enterprise Partnerships and Mayoral Combined Authorities across England to develop Local Industrial Strategies. Government will take a phased approach - in July we announced the next wave of six areas with which Government is working closely with on their Local Industrial Strategies. These were chosen to give us experience of working with a variety of areas.

Industry: Sheffield City Region

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason his Department did not choose to work with the Sheffield City Region on a local industrial strategy.

Kelly Tolhurst: We have committed to work with all Local Enterprise Partnerships and Mayoral Combined Authorities, including the Sheffield City Region, to develop Local Industrial Strategies.

Public Houses: Closures

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of recent trends in the number of pubs closing on the night time economy.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Airbus and BMW

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings Ministers or officials of his Department had with representatives of (a) Airbus and (b) BMW at which company announcements relating to the UK leaving the EU were discussed in May and June 2018.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Conditions of Employment

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the definition of worker in employment law to clarify and strengthen the rights of off-payroll workers, dependent contractors and participants in the gig economy.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government is committed to providing clarity for businesses and individuals on employment status. As Matthew Taylor identified in his review, this is a complex issue and is one of the major challenges for public policy. We therefore need to take time to consider how best to achieve change that works for all. We received over 160 detailed responses to the Employment Status Consultation. We are currently analysing the responses and will respond in due course.

Northern Ireland Office

Borders: Northern Ireland

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans the Government has for the construction of new infrastruture on the UK border in Northern Ireland in the event of no withdrawal agreement being concluded under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.

Mr Shailesh Vara: As set out in the Joint Report, the UK and the EU are committed to ensuring that our departure does not lead to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. Our White Paper outlines a new and detailed proposal for a principled, pragmatic and ambitious future partnership between the UK and the EU and would enable us to meet these commitments. We firmly believe it is in the interests of both the EU and the UK to strike a deal and we are confident that this will be achieved.

Borders: Northern Ireland

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what information her Department holds on whether the (a) Republic of Ireland and (b) the EU has plans for building new infrastructure on the UK border in Northern Ireland in the event of no agreement being reached under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union; and whether the UK Government has any such plans.

Mr Shailesh Vara: As set out in the Joint Report, the UK and the EU are committed to ensuring that our departure does not lead to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. Our White Paper outlines a new and detailed proposal for a principled, pragmatic and ambitious future partnership between the UK and the EU and would enable us to meet these commitments. We firmly believe it is in the interests of both the EU and the UK to strike a deal and we are confident that this will be achieved.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Kevin Foster: What recent assessment she has made of the security situation in Northern Ireland.

Karen Bradley: The threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism continues to be SEVERE in Northern Ireland, meaning an attack is highly likely.Our response to terrorism and paramilitary activity is coordinated, effective and fully resourced.This Government remains fully committed to keeping people safe and secure and ensuring that terrorism never succeeds.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Jack Lopresti: What steps she is taking with all communities in Northern Ireland to resolve legacy issues in the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive.

Mr Shailesh Vara: On 11 May 2018, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland launched the public consultation, ‘Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past’. The consultation provides everyone who has an interest with the opportunity to see the proposed way forward and contribute to the discussion on the issues. There has been extensive stakeholder engagement and following calls for additional time, the Secretary of State has decided to extend the closing date from 10 September to 5 October.

Veterans: Northern Ireland

David T. C. Davies: What steps she is taking to support armed forces veterans and police officers who have served in Northern Ireland.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This Government is clear that it is only due to the unstinting efforts of our Police and Armed Forces that we have peace in Northern Ireland today. We have always acknowledged our ongoing duty of care to our former soldiers which includes providing legal support and representation. Policing in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter. It is the role of the Police Federation to represent and promote the interests and welfare of the Police.

Department of Health and Social Care

Abortion Act 1967

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provisions of the Abortion Act 1967.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Under the Abortion Act 1967, women have early access to safe, legal, high quality abortion services. There were 194,668 abortions performed under the provisions of the Abortion Act in England and Wales in 2017, with 98% of abortions being funded by the National Health Service. Abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance. Proposals for legislative change are a matter for backbenchers to bring forward and decisions are made on the basis of free votes.

Mental Health Services: Acute Beds

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many acute non-consultant-led mental health beds there were in the NHS in England in each year for which data is available.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of acute consultant-led mental health beds in the NHS in England are now classified as non-consultant-led beds as a result of changes to reporting data in 2013-14.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2018 to Question 162042 on Mental Health Services: Acute Beds, what classifications his Department has used for acute mental health beds for data purposes since 2009.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to collect information on the total number of acute mental health beds in the NHS in England.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The NHS England KH03 collection collects the number of available and occupied beds open overnight that are under the care of consultants. This is published quarterly and is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/bed-data-overnight/ Data is not collected for the total number of acute mental health beds in the National Health Service in England and data on non-consultant-led acute mental health beds is therefore not available. Prior to April 2010, figures on overnight beds were collected and published via the annual KH03 return on bed availability and occupancy. These figures related to consultant-led beds, split by ward classification. The ward classifications related to mental illness were as follows: Mental illness: children: short stayMental illness: children: long stayMental illness: elderly: short stayMental illness: elderly: long stayMental illness: other ages: secure unitMental illness: other ages: short stayMental illness: other ages: long stay Since April 2010, overnight bed figures have been collected and published on a quarterly basis, based on consultant main specialty. For mental illness, the consultant specialties are:710 Adult Mental Illness711 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry712 Forensic Psychiatry713 Psychotherapy715 Old Age Psychiatry Since 2013/14, we are aware that many trusts have started classifying an increasing number of mental illness beds as non-consultant-led. This is because some mental health services are now run by multi-disciplinary teams rather than consultants. In Q1 2015/16, following a validation of beds data, several mental health providers ceased to submit returns to the NHS England KH03 collection. This was because the validation exercise concluded that beds that providers had previously been including in returns to the KH03 collection did not satisfy the criteria to be classified as ‘consultant-led’. There are no plans to collect data on non-consultant-led beds in the KH03 collection.

Hearing Aids

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of (a) 16-65 year olds and (b) people over 65 receive hearing aids on the NHS.

Caroline Dinenage: This information is not collected centrally. However, the following table shows data published by industry on the number of Hearing Aid units supplied to the National Health Service in 2017.  Q1Q2Q3Q4TotalTotal number of hearing aid units supplied to the NHS in 2017343,690341,070337,228388,7541,410,742

Mental Illness: Young People

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of young people with mental health issues.

Jackie Doyle-Price: To improve and transform support available to those children and young people with mental health issues, we are making an additional £1.4 billion available from 2015/16 to 2019/20. This additional money funds clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and various national programmes, including improving crisis support, expanding the workforce and tackling stigma. The additional money will also be used to improve access to services, and latest data shows that we our exceeding our trajectory for an additional 70,000 children and young people to access mental health treatment by 2020/21. Regarding funding, we have seen a 20% increase in CCG spend on children and young people’s mental health, rising from £516 million in 2015/16 to £619 million in 2016/17. To improve public attitudes towards mental health and encourage help-seeking, we are investing over £12 million to support the national Time To Change programme over the course of 2016/17-2020/21. We are also working with Public Health England to develop a new £15 million programme to train at least 1 million people in basic mental health ‘first aid’ skills. Our joint Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education Green Paper, ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’, will be supported by over £300 million and aims to improve provision of services in schools, bolster links between schools and the National Health Service, and pilot a four week waiting time. We recently published our response to the consultation, which sets out what we heard during the consultation and provides next steps around implementation.

NHS: Research

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of licensing the National Institute for Health Research  to use the NHS brand on the development and dissemination of research on front line NHS clinical practice; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), which is funded by the Department, supports health and care research and translates discoveries into practical products, treatments, devices and procedures. The Department is renewing and refreshing the underlying strategy for the NIHR and is currently assessing how best to reflect the breadth of the NIHR’s work in its brand, including research in the National Health Service, public health, social care and international settings. The NHS, patients and the public will always be at the centre of NIHR research.

NHS: Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the auditing procedure that is in place to ensure that timesheets of agency and night workers in the NHS are accurate.

Stephen Barclay: Individual trusts have their own internal auditing function which is there to assure the board of the sufficiency of control systems within each organisation. It is for trusts to ensure timesheet process is robust are accurate, and where any weaknesses are found report this to their Audit Committee, Local Counter Fraud Specialist or the NHS Counter Fraud Authority for further investigation.

NHS: Drugs

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS in England of special medicinal products over the last 12 months.

Steve Brine: In the most recent 12 month period for which data is available (June 2017 to May 2018) the cost of National Health Service special medicinal products dispensed in the community in England was £70.5 million down from £135.5 million in 2010.

Health Services and Social Services: East Midlands

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to support the coordination and joining-up of the health and care systems in the East Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: Like all local areas, East Midlands local authorities and clinical commissioning groups have pooled budgets under the Better Care Fund (BCF) for the purposes of integrated care, and developed BCF plans according to their local needs. The BCF has encouraged collaborative working in local areas. Many local areas in East Midlands voluntarily pooled more BCF funds than required. Their local health and care leaders also indicated that the overall delivery of the BCF has improved joint working and integration of health and social care in their area. The Five Year Forward View set out a clear vision on how to close the gaps of the health and wellbeing of the population, the quality of care provided, and the finances and efficiencies of NHS services. Sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) and integrated care systems (ICSs) are the NHS’s chosen vehicle to deliver this vision. All local areas, including those in East Midlands, have already got their local plans and partnerships in place to achieve this. As STPs and ICSs continue to develop, we expect them to make more progress in integrating care across their area, bringing together organisations to provide more seamless and joined-up care for patients.

Respite Care

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money each local authority received via clinical commissioning groups in 2017-18 to provide breaks for carers as a proportion of the £130 million of Government funding for carers' breaks included annually in the Better Care Fund.

Caroline Dinenage: The clinical commissioning groups minimum allocation to the Better Care Fund (BCF) in 2017-18 includes £130 million of funds for the provision of carers’ breaks. Local BCF plans set out the level of resource that will be dedicated to carer-specific support, including carers’ breaks, and identify how the chosen methods for supporting carers will help to meet key outcomes. The exact breakdown on spend for carers breaks is not collected centrally.

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Public Health England review of minimum unit pricing for alcohol is planned to be published; and what assessment he has made of the effect on public health of the time taken to implement a minimum unit pricing alcohol policy in England.

Steve Brine: The United Kingdom Government is commissioning Public Health England to carry out a scientific review into the impact of minimum unit pricing (MUP) following its recent introduction in Scotland. The timing of outputs from the review is still under consideration. The previous Government’s consultation in 2013 found that the evidence as it stood at that time did not conclusively demonstrate that MUP would reduce problem drinking without also penalising responsible drinkers. That remains the case, and that is why the Government intends to keep this policy under review.

Locums: Tax Avoidance

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many locum doctors are subject to the 2019 Loan Charge.

Stephen Barclay: No estimate of the number of locum doctors affected by the 2019 Loan Charge has been made. It is the Department’s expectation however that locum doctors do not enter into tax avoidance arrangements and should comply with this new legislation from its introduction in April 2019.

NHS: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of mental health staff that have been recruited to the NHS since June 2017.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital publishes monthly workforce statistics and the data shows there have been 29,581 joiners to the mental health workforce between June 2017 to 30 April 2018, in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups, headcount.

First Aid and Mental Health: Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number members of the public who have been trained in basic mental health awareness and first aid by the Government since June 2017.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information is not available. In October 2017, the Government announced plans to launch a new £15 million programme in 2018, which will see at least one million people trained in basic mental health ‘first aid’ skills. The programme is expected to launch later this year. In addition, we are committed to training a member of staff in mental health awareness in every primary and secondary school by 2022. By April this year we had trained over 1,300 staff in over 1,000 schools. We aim to reach every secondary school by 2019 and every primary school by 2022.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the proposed budget for child and adolescent mental health services transformation has been allocated to local clinical commissioning groups; and how much was allocated in each year since that budget was announced.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is set out in the following table. Year2015/162016/172017/182018/19Total made available for children and young people's mental health transformation/£ million (Excludes £15 million per annum for perinatal mental health)158265265265Transformation funds allocated to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)/£ million105 (actual)189 (actual)192 (actual)202 (actual to July 2018)Proportion of total to CCGs66%71%72%76%Source: NHS England

General Practitioners: ICT

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage uptake by GP surgeries of online access systems for patients.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Over the past four years, general practitioner (GP) practices have participated in workshops and seminars to help them implement online services safely and confidently. Support materials for GP practices have been made available on NHS England’s website including clinical guidance developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners. NHS England has worked with partners – including the National Association of Patient Participation, other independent sector organisations and patient participation groups, and local interest groups - to raise public awareness of patient online services. Several clinical commissioning groups have run public promotion campaigns. Almost 14.3 million people (24.6%) of the patient population are now using GP online services to access health care via their GP practice to book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, and see their medical records and test results.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to maintain the current cost-effectiveness threshold per quality-adjusted life year in the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

Steve Brine: The Government is committed to supporting the United Kingdom life sciences industry and ensuring that patients can access cost-effective innovative medicines and technologies at a price the National Health Service can afford. We have been listening to industry feedback and discussing how the medicines market is likely to evolve over the next five years. These discussions have now moved into a more formal phase and are commercially sensitive. The Government will update Parliament if and when agreement is reached.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to establish a formal mechanism to (a) involve and (b) listen to patient groups during the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme negotiations.

Steve Brine: Patient groups have made a valuable input to the development of proposals for a new medicines pricing scheme through correspondence and meetings. While the formal negotiations are confidential between industry and the Government, we will, with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, continue this dialogue as the negotiations progress.

Department for International Development

Overseas Aid

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the amount of funding given to UK-based organisations that has been spent on (a) overseas aid and (b) administrative costs within the UK over the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) data is collected and reported according to a standard international classification produced by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). According to this classification, the amount of UK ODA delivered by UK and other donor country NGOs in the last five years is given in the table below:UK ODA spend delivered by donor1-based NGO, 2012-20162 20122013201420152016Net ODA (millions £)£488m£662m£759m£772m£710mSource: Statistics on International Development1. Donor-based NGOs cover UK based NGOs as well as the NGOs of other donors. The figures included above will mainly consist of UK based NGOs however there are some amounts included for other donor NGOs delivering UK ODA, such as UK contributions to the Norway-based, Norwegian Refugee Council.2. The latest data is for calendar year 2016 and figures for 2017 will be published this autumn. This classification does not include ODA spend by other types of UK based institutions (research institutions, universities and private sector organisations). The information for (b) is not held in the form requested and can only be collated at disproportionate cost. DFID works to reduce administrative costs charged by suppliers. The policy, which ensures a consistent approach, is followed across all contracts. The policy can be found on Gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/652367/Cost-Eligibility-Guidance.pdf

Department for Education

Pupil Exclusions: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the number of suspensions in primary and secondary schools in Coventry; and what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on support for schools with high numbers of suspensions.

Nick Gibb: The National Statistics release ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England 2016 to 2017’ includes information on the number and rate of permanent and fixed period exclusions. The full release is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2016-to-2017.Information for local authorities by academic year is available in the Underlying data section of the release, in the file “national_region_la_school_data_exc1617.csv”. The data can be filtered by the columns “year, “level” and “la_name”.In March, the Government announced an externally led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review will consider how schools use exclusion and share best practice.

Department for Education: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of the staff employed in each group of his Department are apprentices.

Anne Milton: The information requested is contained in the table below.DirectorateWorkforceNumber of apprenticesProportionEducation and Skills Funding Agency1648573.5%Education Standards (including Agencies)977262.7%Higher and Further Education595101.7%Infrastructure and Funding1015252.5%Legal Adviser's Office14**Operations1159585.0%Social Care, Mobility and Equalities707182.5%Total6115194**3.2% Notes:* Redacted due to small number.** Total does not include Legal Adviser’s Office.Information correct as at 30 June 2018.

Teachers: Pay

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Written Statement of 24 July 2018 on Teachers Update, WS912, when he plans to publish the funding sources for the teachers pay grant for (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20.

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his Written Statement of 24 July on Teachers Update, WS912, how will the savings from his Department’s budget to fund the teachers pay grant be made.

Nick Gibb: We are fully funding the teachers’ pay award, by providing a Teachers’ Pay Grant worth £187 million in 2018-19 and £321 million in 2019-20. This grant will be additional and separate to the funding schools receive through the national funding formula. It funds the difference between the 1% award schools would have been anticipating, under the previous public sector pay cap, and the proposed award for next year.There will be no cuts to existing programmes to fund this grant. In setting the core schools budget, worth £42.4 billion this year and £43.5 billion next year, the Department has to make estimates around a range of factors, such as pupil numbers. The Department has now worked hard to scrutinise these forecasts and assumptions in-year, and that has allowed it to free up the funding required for the pay grant – less than 0.6% of the overall budget, over two years.

T-levels

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made contingency plans for the implementation of the first three T Levels in the event that the planned timetable is not met.

Anne Milton: The delivery timetable for T Levels is challenging, which is why we have put in place robust programme management procedures, and are keeping the programme under regular review. Alongside our apprenticeship reforms, T Levels are central to reforming technical and vocational education and training, to improve workforce skills and drive productivity growth, which is why it is important we keep up momentum.The delivery of T Levels in 2020 is purposely focused on three T Levels with a small number of selected providers. We are in the process of collecting key data to ensure that these providers have the support they need to meet the timetable, and we will continue to monitor progress, working closely with the 2020 providers, employers and other delivery partners to ensure that we remain on track for delivery in 2020.

Ministry of Justice

Family Courts: Domestic Violence

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent statutory inquiry on the family courts’ handling of domestic abuse.

Lucy Frazer: We are determined to improve the treatment of domestic abuse victims in the family justice system. We believe that the Government’s consultation on domestic abuse provides a good avenue for considering how best to build on the recent improvements we have made in this area. We are examining responses received to the consultation, ahead of publishing a formal Government response later in the autumn.

Child Contact Centres: Data Protection

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ensure that any unresolved disputes around General Data Protection Regulation implementation will not prevent National Association of Child Contact Centres accredited support contact centres from receiving grants from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in 2019.

Lucy Frazer: While the Government has no overall responsibility for funding child contact centre provision, the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) provides small value grants of up to £3,000 in total per annum to assist individual NACCC-accredited child contact centres run by the voluntary sector (i.e. supported centres), where such organisations seek financial assistance. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) certification is one of the standards which must be met for NACCC accreditation. Cafcass is able to fund supported child contact centres which achieve GDPR certification. Those working towards certification are eligible to apply for funding and will receive this once certification is achieved and confirmed by NACCC. NACCC reports that the majority of supported child contact centres are already compliant or are working towards this.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

EU Grants and Loans

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Shared Prosperity Fund is planned to be allocated on the basis of the Barnett formula.

Jake Berry: My Department continues to develop the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), a domestic programme of investment to tackle inequalities between communities by raising productivity across the whole of the UK, especially in those parts of our country whose economies are furthest behind.We have committed to engaging the devolved administrations to ensure the UKSPF works for places in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and will launch a public consultation for the whole of the UK later this year. Decisions on the operation and allocation of the UKSPF will be made following the consultation and will be subject to the spending review next year.

Service Charges

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help protect tenants from increasing property maintenance charges.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government's position is that service charges should be transparent, communicated effectively, and there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong. That is why on 1 April, we set out a number of commitments in response to the call for evidence on 'Protecting consumers in the letting and managing agent market’ to regulate and professionalise the managing agents sector. We will be establishing a working group to take this forward, which will also consider how service charges and fees should be presented to consumers and to explore the best means to challenge fees which are unjustified. As part of this work, consideration will also be given to standards around service charges and how to include them in a statutory code of practice.

Environment Protection: Northern Ireland

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when it is planned that ratification of the 2004 second amendment to the Espoo Convention on Transboundary Impact will take place in relation to Northern Ireland.

Kit Malthouse: Ratification of international agreements is not a devolved policy area and is made at UK level by the UK Government. The second amendment to the Espoo Convention was adopted in 2004 and entered into force on 23 October 2017. The Government takes its international commitments very seriously and will only commit to formal ratification when it is satisfied it is in a position to do so. Officials will assess what needs to be done under domestic legislation, and practical arrangements to ratify the second amendment, in due course.

Ministry of Defence

Defence: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which units within the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Army are the primary agencies within those respective bodies for identifying and investigating innovative solutions to future combat requirements.

Stuart Andrew: There is a dedicated innovation cell in Navy Command's Maritime Capability Division that has responsibility for identifying the future combat capability requirements for the Royal Navy and for developing potential capability solutions as cost-effectively as possible.For the Army, the Future Force Development Branch of the Army Headquarters' Capability Directorate leads on considering how the Army will fight in the future and identifying related combat capability requirements. In addition, the Land Warfare Centre leads on innovating solutions to the shorter term future, and 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade is leading on 'Strike Experimentation' in support of the Joint Force 2025.

Weapons

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to investigate the potential uses of directed energy on future UK armed forces platforms.

Stuart Andrew: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is making a significant investment in the development of Directed Energy Weapons technology and continues to do so as part of its science and technology portfolio; this includes the development of Dragonfire, the UKs first Laser Directed Energy Weapon technology demonstrator.The MOD recognises that directed energy technologies and systems are now reaching maturity. It has appointed a Senior Responsible Owner and established a Novel Weapons team to specifically investigate the military utility of Directed Energy Weapons. The team is addressing key enablers such as logistics, doctrine, interoperability and is also focused on understanding safety, legal and ethical aspects of deploying them as part of future military capability. It is undertaking this work with the front line commands and consulting with the UK supplier base; acting as a focal point for a cross defence effort.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on procuring fleet support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to restrict the competition of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships being procured to UK-only bidders; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Andrew: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the then Minister for Defence Procurement (Guto Bebb) on 9 July 2018 to Question 906314 and on 19 June 2018 to Question 152792 from the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Douglas Chapman).



Royal Fleet Auxiliary
(Word Document, 28.88 KB)

Type 31 Frigates

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress his Department has made on procuring Type 31e frigates; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the Type 31e frigate acquisition process has been halted; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his plans are for the new Type 31e frigate procurement competition.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department's new procurement competition for the Type 31e frigate will maintain the policy of capping the price of each vessel at £250 million.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether DE&S plans to issue a new pre-qualification questionnaire to industry for the Type 31e frigate competition.

Stuart Andrew: The Ministry of Defence took the decision to stop the procurement of the Type 31e Frigate because we had not received sufficient compliant bids for the Competitive Design Phase. The market was formally notified on 20 July 2018.We communicated our plans for the first stage of the new procurement on 13 August 2018 by issuing a Prior Information Notice (PIN). This PIN invited potential suppliers to a short period of early market engagement to allow us to share with industry key elements of the new procurement, including technical and commercial information. The outcome of this market engagement will inform the next steps of the new procurement process.There has been no change in our plan to procure a first batch of five new Type 31e Frigates for £1.25 billion.

Type 26 Frigates

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the basing decisions for the Type 26 frigate.

Stuart Andrew: The decision on the baseporting for the Type 26 frigate will be announced in due course.

Armed Forces: Training

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which foreign armed forces the UK armed forces has trained in the last 12 months.

Mark Lancaster: The list below sets out the foreign states that were provided training and/or education by the UK Armed Forces for the period 25 July 2017 – 25 July 2018.AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaAnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamas, TheBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBermudaBosnia & HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBruneiBulgariaCameroonCanadaChileChinaColombiaCote D'IvoireCroatiaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEast TimorEgyptEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGambia, TheGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuyanaHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstanLatviaLebanonLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaliMaltaMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMoldovaMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoNepalNetherlandsNew ZealandNigerNigeriaNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinian Autonomous AreasPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalQatarRomaniaRwandaSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSri LankaSt. LuciaSudanSwedenSwitzerlandTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUruguayUnited StatesUzbekistanVanuatuVietnamZambiaZimbabwe

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress his Department has made on procuring (a) Type 31e frigates and (b) fleet support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; and if they will be built at UK shipyards.

Stuart Andrew: For the position on the Type 31e frigate programme, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Durham (Kevan Jones) on 5 September 2018 to Questions 167940, 167941, 167942 and 167945 and to the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens) to Question 167315.For the position on the Fleet Solid Support ships, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Minister for Defence Procurement (Guto Bebb) on 9 July 2018 to Question 906314 from the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens).



RFA Fleet Support Ships
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Armed Forces: Pay

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 24 July 2018 on Ministry of Defence -Update, HCWS909, when the 0.9 per cent non-consolidated one-off payment will be implemented.

Gavin Williamson: The Ministry of Defence is working with its pay administration providers to agree when the non-consolidated payment will be implemented and will update Service personnel as soon as possible.

Armed Forces: Pay

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department first received a copy of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body’s 2018 report.

Gavin Williamson: The Ministry of Defence responded to the Armed Forces Pay Review Body's 2018 report on 24 July 2018.This pay award affects approximately 190,000 UK Regular and Reserve Forces personnel, who will receive an above inflation increase of 2.9%. Supported by strong evidence on recruitment and retention issues, the award takes into account the need to recruit, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified personnel.

Armed Forces: Pay

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 29, paragraph 3.23, of the Armed Forces Pay Body Review Report 2018, for what reason the Review Body’s recommendation of an across-the-board increase of 2.9 per cent in base pay for 2018-19 was not accepted.

Gavin Williamson: For the 2018-19 award, the Government gave the Armed Forces a 2% consolidated uplift, and 0.9% as a bonus. The payment of a bonus element will ensure that total annual income will be increased by 2.9%, therefore meeting the spirit of the AFPRB recommendation.This is the largest pay increase for the Armed Forces since 2010.The Government values the advice of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) and works closely with them to ensure that they have all the evidence necessary to complete their work.

Type 31 Frigates

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the target in-service date for the first Type 31 frigates is; and what assessment he has made of the implications of operating Type 23 frigates beyond the dates on they were due to be replaced by Type 31 frigates.

Stuart Andrew: There has been no change to our plans for the first Type 31e Frigate to enter service by the end of 2023, with all five ships delivered by the end of 2028.

Department for Work and Pensions

Electronic Government

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps are being taken to (a) make the HMRC Gateway service more accessible and (b) enable improved access to Government services for people with no online or digital access.

Justin Tomlinson: (a) DWP are key stakeholders in the development of the new HMRC Government Gateway Service. HMRC are leading on user research around accessibility with DWP participation via Government Departmental Working Groups.(b) We are working with partner organisations and with other departments to understand the level of support users of government services need. As part of this programme of work we are looking at the current internet devices we have in our Jobcentre Plus Offices, this includes Digital propensity, Digital Inclusion and the level of support DWP provides. DWP assures all our digital services meet the quality requirements of the Digital Service Standard which, includes both accessibility and assisted digital needs. Face to face appointments’ for claimants and free phone lines are part of the breadth of services we also have available to people without digital access.

Pensions: Plumbing

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the effect of section 75 rules on debt calculations for multi-Employer Pension Schemes on directors of plumbing companies.

Guy Opperman: There are nearly 1,000 multi-employer schemes. The legislation requiring employers to pay debts applies to all. This legislation helps ensure employees receive the pension they have been promised and worked for. The Green Paper “Protecting Defined Benefit Pensions” specifically discussed Multi Employer Schemes. The government looked closely at evidence submitted from employers and representatives from the Plumbing & Mechanical Services (UK) Industry Pension Scheme regarding this legislation. After careful consideration the government concluded that it cannot consider amending an important area of legislation further, which would disadvantage scheme members, just to address one particular scheme’s problems.Summaries of the responses to the Green Paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/defined-benefit-pension-schemes-security-and-sustainability

Universal Credit

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 23 July to Question 165701 on universal credit, when he expects updated figures to be available.

Alok Sharma: We plan to provide updated figures by the end of 2018.

First Aid: Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals on workplace health and safety regulations to ensure that employers provide appropriate first aid training for their staff.

Sarah Newton: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for regulating first aid provision in the workplace, as set out in the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981. The Regulations require employers to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work. The Regulations apply to all workplaces including those with less than five employees and to the self-employed.Employers should undertake a needs assessment, to ensure that first aid provision adequately reflects the needs of their particular workplace or organisation and that appointed first aid personnel receive appropriate training. It is the responsibility of employers to choose their training providers and apply due diligence in doing so.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

British Overseas Territories: Environment Protection

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK Overseas Territories can continue to access environmental funding after the UK leaves the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We are considering how environmental funding for the UK Overseas Territories can best be provided after we leave the EU.   The Overseas Territories will be able to continue to apply to the Government’s Darwin Plus programme, run by Defra, which supports biodiversity in the Overseas Territories. In 2018-19 we are providing £2.5 million funding through Darwin Plus.   We have also set aside £4.77 million of the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, over four years, to address environmental security issues in the Overseas Territories.

Environment Protection

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the consultation on the environmental principles and governance bill.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We launched a consultation on Environmental Principles and Governance after EU Exit on 10 May. The consultation closes on 2 August. Responses will need to be considered and we expect to publish our response to the consultation in the autumn.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will place in the Library a list of all the (a) affirmative and (b) negative statutory instruments exercising powers under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 which he plans to lay before Parliament in (i) 2018-19 and (ii) 2019-20.

George Eustice: Defra is currently preparing 91 statutory instruments (SIs) relating to the UK’s departure from the EU, in order to ensure continued operability of around 850 pieces of domestic or directly applicable EU legislation after our departure. Planning for these SIs is based on the assumption that they may all need to come into force from 29 March 2019 in a no deal scenario.   We are currently not in a position to publish a list of these SIs as it is still subject to change. We are still making a detailed assessment of the corrections required to make the law function appropriately on the day we leave the EU. The content of individual SIs is therefore still dependant on factors such as ongoing policy discussions with the devolved administrations, other Government departments’ legislation or policy decisions, statutory requirements to consult or business as usual legislation being in force first.   We have, however, already laid three SIs relating to the UK’s departure from the EU before the Sifting Committee on 24 July, which are as follows:   The Seal Products (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018The Animal Welfare (Amendment) (England) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018The Timber, Timber Products and FLEGT (EU Exit) Regulations 2018   We are committed to delivering all of our SIs relating to the UK’s departure from the EU and ensuring a functioning statute book upon departure.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's risk register listing the key risks identified in the event of the UK leaving the EU in 2019 without agreement.

George Eustice: Defra has taken a number of steps to ensure it has strong risk and programme management foundations in place and will continue to assess and manage these as appropriate.   It is not government policy to publish departmental risk registers given the inherent risks involved.   More information about our risk management approach can be found in Chapter 4 of Defra’s annual report and accounts 2017 to 2018, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018. The risk section is specifically on pages 32-36.

Food

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the (a) viability of the food industry and (b) cost of food to consumers of the UK leaving the EU in 2019 without an agreement.

George Eustice: Defra is preparing for all scenarios, and there is ongoing engagement with industry and across Government to understand the implications of leaving the EU for the food industry, including a no deal scenario.   Over the coming months, the UK Government will be providing further information on our plans in order to guide businesses on how they can best prepare for the UK’s departure from the EU. Across Government we will publish around 70 specific technical notices to help businesses, including the food industry, to prepare for March 2019 in the event of a no deal scenario.   The key drivers of change in the cost of food are commodity prices, exchange rates and oil prices. These will continue to apply when we leave the EU. The UK Government does not directly control these factors, however we work closely with industry to promote transparency for consumers and internationally to promote open global markets.   Defra has conducted a range of analysis based on different EU departure scenarios. Such information is an important part of our evidence base informing the UK’s negotiating position. Even in the unlikely scenario of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, there would be a number of tools available to mitigate any price impacts on consumers. These include tariff rate suspensions, lowering the applied tariff on certain goods and opening up autonomous tariff rate quotas.

European Environment Agency

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to maintain the responsibilities and functions in the UK of the (a) EU Environment Agency and (b) European Environment Information and Observation Network (i) after the UK leaves the EU and (ii) in the event of the UK leaving the EU in 2019 without an agreement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Once the implementation period ends, the European Environment Agency (EEA) Agreement will no longer apply to the UK. The nature of our relationship with the EEA during the implementation period and beyond are a matter for negotiations.   Plans for the European Environment Information and Observation Network are directly linked to the EEA and will therefore be determined by the outcome of these negotiations.   We do not want or expect a no deal outcome. We have however always been clear that the Government would prepare for every outcome, including the unlikely event of a no deal.

European Environment Agency

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans for Regulation (EC) No 401/2009 to form part of the common rule book envisaged in the White Paper entitled The Future Relationship Between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published in July 2018, Cm 9593.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Once the implementation period ends, the European Environment Agency (EEA) Agreement will no longer apply to the UK. The nature of our relationship with the EEA during the implementation period and beyond is a matter for negotiations.   Whether Regulation (EC) No 401/2009 will form part of the common rule book will be subject to these negotiations.

Food: Safety

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is the Government's policy that future trade deals on food and feed will provide for public and animal health protection equivalent to the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is already working hard to ensure that our world class capacity to manage food incidents is maintained when the UK leaves the EU. From day one, the FSA are committed to having in place a robust system for detecting and responding to problems in the food chain. To ensure this, the FSA is working to foster strong relationships with competent food safety authorities in Europe, and worldwide, and to develop new risk communication systems. It is of mutual interest for the UK and other countries to work closely in this respect.   Maintaining safety and public confidence in the food we all eat is a high priority for the Government, and any future trade deal must work for UK farmers, businesses, and consumers.

National Parks: Seas and Oceans

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will include proposals to create national marine parks in his review of National Parks.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The review of designated landscapes is being led by Julian Glover, supported by an experienced advisory group. One objective for the review is to consider the case for the extension or creation of new designated areas. There will be an opportunity for all stakeholders, including those advocating the creation of national marine parks, to submit their views through a call for evidence later in the review process.

National Parks: Seas and Oceans

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Foreign Office on (a) the experience of creating marine protected areas around British Overseas Territories and (b) lessons that could be used in creating UK national marine parks.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: My Department has regular contact with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office concerning the establishment of marine protected areas under the United Kingdom’s Overseas Territories Blue Belt Programme, including the interaction with the Marine Conservation Zones around the UK itself.

Tolls: Pollution Control

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of congestion zone areas in reducing pollution to legally permissible limits.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government assessed the effectiveness of road user charging schemes based on vehicle emissions standards in reducing pollution to legally permissible limits in technical reports accompanying the consultation draft and final UK plans for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations.

Fires: Climate Change

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of climate change on the prevalence of wildfires in the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Under the 2008 Climate Change Act, the Government is required to publish every five years a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA). The likely effect of climate change on the prevalence of wildfires in the UK is considered in the evidence report underpinning the 2017 CCRA, which was published in June 2016.   Since the publication of the CCRA, this July we published the National Adaptation Programme which sets out actions that the Forestry Commission will carry out over the next five years to ensure that woodlands are more resilient to natural hazards, including wildfires.   In terms of moorland wildfires, Defra is currently conducting a targeted policy review that will look at the relationship between land management and wildfire.

Exhaust Emissions: Motor Vehicles

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has commissioned research on the costs to local authorities of administering (a) congestion charges and (b) ultra-low emission zone charges for (i) commercial and (ii) domestic vehicles.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government assessed the costs of implementing road user charging schemes based on vehicle emissions standards in the May 2016 Clean Air Zone impact assessment.   The Government has committed £255 million to support implementation costs incurred by those local authorities directed to develop local plans to achieve compliance with statutory air pollution limits within the shortest possible time. In the case of local plans involving road user charging schemes, implementation costs would exclude those costs offset via revenues from charges collected. Local authorities are currently assessing the detailed costs of delivery of their local plans as part of their feasibility studies.

Livestock: Northern Ireland

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what screening procedures are in place to monitor the effect of industrial pig and poultry production on the trans-boundary environment and health of Northern Ireland and Ireland.

George Eustice: Throughout the UK, monitoring stations for emissions of key pollutants are sited in accordance with criteria set out in the EU Air Quality Directive to ensure results are representative and also comparable across all member states. Monitoring data are available at https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk. The UK has long recognised the importance of international coordinated action to reduce the environmental damage caused by air pollution. In June this year, the UK (and other EU Member States) began reporting on our monitoring of the impacts of air pollution on ecosystems. This brings together monitoring and modelling data so that we may chart progress in reducing the environmental harm caused by excessive ammonia emissions from agriculture. Policy to address air pollution is devolved. Policy on the control of air pollutants in Northern Ireland is led by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).   The DAERA operational policy for the regulation of PPC intensive pig and poultry farms in Northern Ireland includes a screening assessment of the potential impacts of trans-boundary emissions on designated habitats in Ireland. DAERA apply the same screening thresholds with regard to potential impacts on habitats in Ireland as for designated habitats in Northern Ireland. The screening procedures include a precautionary distance criteria, habitat sensitivity based on critical loads and an in-combination assessment. Ammonia concentrations are monitored at three sites across Northern Ireland as part of the National Ammonia Monitoring Network.   In relation to trans-boundary consultations on planning consultations, DAERA recommend that the Planning Authority consults with the Ireland (National Parks and Wildlife Service) if it is considered necessary.   In relation to Environmental Protection Agency permitted facilities in Ireland, DAERA is consulted as the statutory Nature Conservation Body for advice where there is the potential for effects on protected habitats in Northern Ireland.   DAERA is also currently reviewing its approach to ammonia emissions and their impacts, including emissions from pig and poultry production, through its Project on Ammonia Reduction. DAERA is currently working with stakeholders with the aim of developing an Ammonia Action Plan.

Landfill: Medway

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the proportion of waste from Medway which ended up in landfill in each of the last five years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The table below shows the proportion of waste from Medway Borough Council which was sent to landfill in each of the last five years.   Year2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17Proportion of waste sent to landfill  16.2%  16.5% 13.8% 11.3% 10.5% The statistics are published annually by Defra and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-collected-waste-management-annual-results.   They will be updated with figures for 2017/18 before the end of the year.

Food

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps with the devolved administrations to ensure a UK-wide approach to food and trade after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: We are working with devolved administrations to identify where UK-wide common frameworks will be necessary in respect of powers returning from the EU, which includes areas such as food standards and safety. Frameworks will be established where they are needed, whether this is to maintain a functioning UK internal market, ensure the UK can negotiate and enter into new trade deals, or to provide the certainty needed to agree and meet international obligations.

Microplastics

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the use of microplastics in products.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Earlier this year we introduced one of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products. This legislation will prevent these tiny pieces of plastic from ending up in the marine environment.   Later this year we will publish a new Resources and Waste Strategy. It will set out how we will eliminate all avoidable plastic waste as well as make the UK a world leader in resource efficiency.

Home Office

British Nationality

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to establish a fast-track citizenship system for people who have lived in the UK for more than 40 years; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: To support those people who have lived in the UK for a long time, on 30 May we launched the Windrush Scheme. The scheme ensures that members of the Windrush generation, their children born in the UK and who arrived in UK as minors, and others who have been in the United Kingdom for a long period of time, will be able to obtain the documents to confirm their status and, in appropriate cases, be able to obtain British citizenship free of charge.We aim to provide a high level of service for all our customers and to everyone who uses our services. All applications to UK Visas and Immigration, including citizenship applications, will be considered in line with existing service standards and customer commitments.

Immigrants: Caribbean

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to ensure the legality of the admission process of members of the Windrush generation that were detained.

Caroline Nokes: Any decision to detain an individual is taken on the basis of careful consideration of the facts of the individual case. In order to detain an individual there must be a power to detain in legislation. Detention decisions must be in line with statutory detention powers and relevant case law as well as published policy on their use. As the policy makes clear, there is a presumption against detention.Detention decisions are subject to internal assurance processes, including an initial decision by an operationally independent “Detention Gatekeeper” and initial and subsequent detention reviews. Reviews are conducted regularly at successively more senior levels throughout the period of detention to ensure that detention remains both lawful and appropriate. Case Progression Panels are held for those where detention reaches three months and at three monthly intervals thereafter.Furthermore, any individual who is detained is entitled to make an application for immigration bail to the First Tier Tribunal. Those not subject to deportation orders are also automatically referred for immigration judge bail every four months. Individuals may also seek to determine the lawfulness of their detention by making an application to the High Court.Whether we acted lawfully or not in detaining an individual is a matter which could only be determined by the courts looking at the facts of the individual cases.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any compensation has been paid to members of the Windrush Generation who were wrongly detained; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has asked any members of the Windrush Generation to sign a non-disclosure agreement; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: We are currently carrying out a public consultation on the Windrush Compensation Scheme. Details of the consultation, including how to respond, are available at www.gov.uk/WindrushWe will be ensuring there is transparency over the Windrush Compensation Scheme. No one applying to the Scheme will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.We have identified one private law claim, which had not been considered at Ministerial level, for compensation of unlawful detention, pre-dating the Windrush Compensation Scheme, involving a member of the Windrush generation, where an NDA was signed. This is not untypical of litigation cases; for many years, and under successive governments, such clauses have been used from time to time in a wide range of litigation and the terms of such settlements are reached on the basis of agreement between the parties.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government has taken to publicise the Windrush compensation scheme to ensure people eligible for compensation know how to access that scheme.

Caroline Nokes: The compensation scheme for those of the Windrush generation that might have been affected is in the process of being established.On 19 July, the Home Office launched a consultation on a Windrush Compensation Scheme, the consultation period will run for 12 weeks ending on 11 October. The consultation is seeking views the scheme’s design and operation including the scope of the scheme and what types of loss should be compensated for. The scheme will be set up as soon as possible, after the consultation closes.The Home Office is promoting the consultation in a variety of ways, including direct engagement with the Windrush generation at community outreach events and roadshows, alongside digital and print media.

Deportation: Windrush Generation

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the 63 Windrush generation members that were wrongly removed from the UK first came to the attention of her Department as a result of the outsourcing company Capita’s trawl of past applications.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office held a contract with Capita from October 2012 to October 2016, to establish contact with individuals who were in the Migration Refusal Pool, which is a pool of records of those who have applied to remain in the UK but had not obtained any leave.Those individuals who had been refused leave to remain in the UK, had their existing leave curtailed or had an application or representations rejected, were contacted by Capita to discuss the options open to them. The data for the individuals to be contacted was supplied to Capita by the Home Office.More information about review of historical removals and detentions dating back to 2002 who might have been part of the Windrush generation, is set out in the second monthly update provided by the Home Secretary to the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP on 21 August 2018. A copy of that letter has been deposited in the House Library.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with (a) political parties and (b) civil society in Northern Ireland on (i) repealing and (ii) amending sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

Victoria Atkins: There have been no such discussions held by the Home Office. Therefore I refer the Hon. Member to the response given by the Northern Ireland Office, UIN 155724 on the 27th June 2018.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions his Department has had with local authorities in (a) Liverpool and (b) the North West affected by the roll out of the private pilot of the new application process for the EU Settlement Scheme due to begin on 28 August 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Following the publication of the Statement of Intent on the EU Settlement Scheme on 21 June 2018, the Home Secretary wrote to local authority leaders with further details about how the scheme will work. We have been clear that we are designing the scheme with users in mind, and we are regularly engaging with our user groups for the scheme, which include local authority representatives.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to contact, inform and involve hon. Members whose constituencies are included in the area of the private pilot of the new application process for the EU Settlement Scheme due to be launched on 28 August 2018.

Caroline Nokes: On 21 June, we published the Statement of Intent, informing all members of Parliament of our intention to conduct a private beta. This was followed by my oral statement on the same day and a written ministerial statement on 23 July which set out further details on the private testing exercise.We will provide further details in due course of the planned phased implementation of the scheme, and we will continue to update Parliament as part of that process.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of rejected applications under the private pilot of the new application process for the EU Settlement Scheme on (a) the people making those applications and (b) the provision of NHS services in the North West whose staff members have had their applications so rejected.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the eligibility requirements are for a successful application under the private pilot of the new application process for the EU Settlement Scheme; and whether people found not to be eligible under the terms of that pilot scheme will be able to make new applications to the EU Settlement Scheme once it is fully launched.

Caroline Nokes: Applicants will need to meet three core criteria to be granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme: proving their identity and nationality, showing that they are resident in the UK and declaring whether they have any criminal convictions.We will work with applicants to help them avoid any errors or omissions that may impact on the application decision, but any applicant who is refused will be able to make a further application under the scheme later on. Whether or not an applicant is granted status under the private beta phase of the scheme, they will continue to retain their existing rights under EU law, including the right to work.

Home Office: Written Questions

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to answer Questions 146839 and 163094, on criminal proceedings, tabled on 22 May and 11 July 2018 respectively by the hon. Member for Scunthorpe; and for what reasons he has so far not responded to those Questions.

Mr Nick Hurd: The responses for UIN 146839 and 163094 were answered on 25th July 2018.

Fraud

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports to Action Fraud have been dismissed by a computer system before they are read by a member of staff in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Mr Ben Wallace: No reports are dismissed by a computer system, all reports submitted to Action Fraud are processed through an automated triage system that is designed to ensure that resources are targeted at those cases that have the most viable lines of enquiry. An automated process is required due to the large number of cases received (approximately 42,000 per month) to provide an efficient and effective response.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Pay

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to launch a public consultation on civil service pay guidance.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with trades unions on the civil service pay guidance.

Oliver Dowden: The Cabinet Office does not have any plans to hold a public consultation on any elements of the civil service pay remit guidance. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and I met with the General Secretaries of the FDA, Prospect and PCS trade unions on 27 June to discuss the Civil Service pay guidance, which was published on 25 June.In my capacity as the Minister with responsibility for Civil Service HR, including trade unions, I previously met with the General Secretaries of the FDA and Prospect on the 22 February 2018, and with the PCS General Secretary, on the 27th February 2018.Cabinet office officials regularly meet with trade union representatives to discuss a range of workforce issues, including pay.

Cabinet Office EU Unit: Staff

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff of each grade work in the Cabinet Office Europe Unit.

Oliver Dowden: The table below sets out the number of staff working at each grade in the Cabinet Office Europe Unit at 25th July 2018: GradeHeadcountPermanent Secretary1SCS2 (Director level)2SCS1 (Deputy Director level)6Band A (CS Grade 7)12Band B2 (CS Grade Higher Executive Officer/Senior Executive Officer)5Band B1 (CS Grade Executive Officer)6Total32 As announced in the written statement 'Machinery of Government Change’ (24 July 2018), a limited number of staff will be transferring from the Department for Exiting the European Union to the Cabinet Office Europe Unit.

Public Sector: Contracts

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Public Contracts Regulation 2015 in ensuring that the public sector treats economic operators equally and without discrimination.

Oliver Dowden: The EU Public Procurement Directives contain detailed procedural rules to facilitate the Single Market, including an obligation to treat economic operators equally and without discrimination. This is transposed at Article 18 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and there are penalties contained in a separate scheme of remedies directives for non-compliance. The UK has transposed all directives fully. The European Commission publishes studies that evaluate and assess various aspects of the impact of the directives, and can be viewed at the following link:https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/public-procurement/studies-networks_en

Breast Cancer: Mortality Rates

Royston Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the survival rates for people with breast cancer have been in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 80.46 KB)

Cabinet Office: Meetings

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings have taken place between officials of his Department and representatives of (a) CER, (b) the CBI, (c) the Institute of Directors, (d) Greenpeace, (e) Oxfam, (f) Friends of the Earth, (g) British Chambers of Commerce, (h) Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and (i) the EEF in the last twelve months.

Chloe Smith: Details of ministerial and senior official (Permanent Secretary) meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis, and are available on GOV.UK and a link is provided as follows :-Cabinet Office Senior Officials External Meetings - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-senior-officials-business-expenses-and-hospitality-january-to-march-2018 Cabinet Office Minister's Transparency Publications - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications

National Democracy Week

Wes Streeting: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the Government's hosting of national democracy week; how many events the Government held; and how many people attended each such event.

Chloe Smith: The Government's contribution to the success of National Democracy Week was resourced from existing democratic engagement budgets. To date, Cabinet Office expenditure has been less than £60k and is not expected to change significantly. The Government established the National Democracy Week Council to develop and deliver events during the Week. Members from civil society and local government sectors delivered more than 40 events between 2-8 July, starting with the National Democracy Week Awards and including activities from a diverse range of member organisations, such as Mencap, Faiths Forums for London and the British Youth Council. Details are available on the National Democracy Week website: www.gov.uk/nationaldemocracyweek

Treasury

Non-domestic Rates: Solar Power

Craig Mackinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential effect on encouraging people and businesses to be more environmentally-friendly and on energy security of establishing an exemption from any valuation uplift of business premises for business rates purposes when solar panels have been fitted.

Mel Stride: Solar panels are only rateable for business rates purposes where they are supplying energy for the business occupying the property. Where the energy generated is wholly or mostly sold to consumers, the panels are exempt from business rates. This is an established principle for rating energy generation. New microgeneration installations benefit from a business rate exemption until the following revaluation. Businesses occupying properties with solar panels are also benefiting from recent reforms and reductions to business rates worth over £10bn by 2023, including switching from Retail Price Index to Consumer Price Index uprating of business rates and increasing the frequency of revaluations.

UK Trade with EU

Jo Platt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 165182, by what means HMRC plans to distinguish between a good settled in its final destination in the UK and a good destined to travel on to the EU.

Mel Stride: Under the Facilitated Customs Arrangement, the UK will apply the EU’s tariffs and trade policy for goods intended for the EU; while applying its own tariffs and trade policy for goods intended for the UK. Where a good reaches the UK border, and the destination can be robustly demonstrated by a trusted trader, it will pay the UK tariff if it is destined for the UK and the EU tariff if it is destined for the EU. This is most likely to be relevant to finished goods, and we will seek to maximise the number of trusted traders who can pay the correct tariff at the border. Where the destination of the good cannot be demonstrated at the point of import, the higher of the UK or EU tariff will be due. Where the good’s destination is later identified to be the lower tariff jurisdiction, it will be eligible for a repayment from the UK equal to the difference between the two tariffs. This is most likely to be relevant to intermediate goods. The FCA, including how goods destined for the UK and the EU will be distinguished, will be designed to make it as simple as possible for businesses to engage with. The final details will be subject to negotiations with the EU.

Tax Avoidance

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy to extend IR35 off-payroll tax rules to the private sector.

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on private sector (a) employment and (b) workforce structures of extending IR35 off-payroll tax rules to the private sector.

Mel Stride: The Government has recently consulted on non-compliance with the off-payroll working rules in the private sector. The Government is carefully considering the responses received, and will issue its response in due course. The impacts and effect on business will depend on the outcome of the consultation.

UK Trade with EU: Customs

Mr Marcus Fysh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what work has been undertaken to understand the technology and processes required to remove the need for infrastructure related to checks and controls at the Irish border itself aside from that on the Facilitated Customs Arrangement referred to in the Government's White Paper on the future relationship between the EU and the UK.

Mel Stride: The Government’s preferred approach to customs, the facilitated customs arrangement (FCA), would avoid any need for customs declarations on cross-border trade and would ensure there are no stops or checks at the land border. The FCA will therefore fully deliver on the Government’s commitments to avoid a hard land border. The UK is also seeking to be at the cutting edge of global customs policy. As the Government outlined in the “future customs arrangements” paper in August 2017, it has been exploring possible ways in which to use future advancements in technology to streamline the trading process; including by simplifying existing procedures to reduce burdens on business, or speeding up some authorisation processes through increased automation. The UK will look to implement such innovations, bilaterally or unilaterally, to promote the greatest possible trade with the rest of the world.

Robert McCoy

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information he holds on the current status of the EU's review of compensation due to Robert McCoy; what official UK involvement there has been in investigating the criminal allegations originally made by him; what legal support has been provided to him; if he will ensure that all outstanding anti-fraud cases relating to EU institutions and involving UK nationals as eye-witnesses are resolved as part of negotiations on the UK leaving the EU; and if she will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The UK Government does not monitor official investigations or legal cases that the EU has initiated against its own staff, irrespective of nationality. The conduct of these investigations and cases is a matter for the EU.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to prevent broadband services using copper which is sold as fibre.

Margot James: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK's independent regulator of advertising. It recently reviewed the use of the term ‘fibre’ to describe part-fibre and full-fibre broadband and concluded in November 2017 that the term 'fibre' is unlikely to mislead consumers as currently used in the advertising of part-fibre broadband services. Permission for judicial review of this ASA's decision has been granted by the Administrative Court. On 23 May 2018, the ASA has also implemented a new guidance on broadband speeds advertisement stating that speed claims should now be based on the download speeds available to at least 50% of customers at peak time, and no more on 'up to' speeds available to at least 10% of customers. Ofcom has also updated its Code of Practice on Broadband Speeds recently.

Business: Cybercrime

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what step his Department is taking to encourage good practice in cyber security for businesses.

Margot James: As part of the 2016-2021 National Cyber Security Strategy the Government created the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to be the authority on the UK’s cyber security environment, sharing knowledge, addressing systemic vulnerabilities and providing leadership on key national cyber security issues. The NCSC’s work includes publishing practical security guidance, such as 10 steps to Cyber Security, which provides a sound basis for any business to take informed cyber security decisions and actions that are right for their organisation. For smaller businesses, NCSC’s Small Business Guide sets out easy, low-cost steps to help protect data, assets and reputation. Businesses may also join the Cyber information Sharing Partnership (CiSP), a joint industry and government initiative to exchange cyber threat information. The NCSC also manages the Cyber Essentials certification scheme, which helps any business demonstrate to their customers that they have taken basic steps to protect their business from a whole range of the most common cyber attacks. In addition, the Government recently introduced the following legislation to encourage good practice in cyber security for businesses: Data Protection Act 2018 — requires organisations to have appropriate technical and organisational cyber security measures in place to protect personal data Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 (known as the “NIS Directive”) — places legal obligations on the a) providers of essentials services and b) digital service providers to to improve their cyber-security

Voluntary Work

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timetable is for the publication of his Department’s civil society strategy; and what the scope of that strategy will be.

Tracey Crouch: The Civil Society Strategy sets out a vision for how the government will support and strengthen civil society in the years to come, without compromising its independence. It is based on a 12 week long engagement exercise and complementary policy work. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published the Strategy on 9th August 2018.

Football: Females

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to establish an alternative governance body than the Football Association to administer women's football in England.

Tracey Crouch: We are not considering a legislative change in the way football is run in this country. With almost 2.5 million registered players, football is now the top participation sport for women and girls in England with the FA setting out their ambition to double female participation over the next five years. Together with Sport England, Government is working closely with the FA to maximise the returns in terms of increased participation and improving the talent pathway for women’s and girl’s football, including supporting their bid to host the 2021 European Championships.

Football: Females

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Football Association on promoting women's football in the North East.

Tracey Crouch: I have regular discussions with the FA and wholeheartedly support their ambition to double female participation across the whole country over the next five years.

Football Association

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding from the public purse the Football Association has received in each of the last five years.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding from the public purse the Football Association has received in each of the last five years to facilitate women's football.

Tracey Crouch: The FA has received £43,118, 824 of National Lottery and Exchequer funding from Sport England over the past five years for the grassroots programmes it delivers: £10,287,050 (13/14), £9,175,259 (14/15), £9,345,964 (15/16), £10,033,667 (16/17), £4,276,884 (17/18) The investment the FA receives is used on projects, which benefit men’s, women’s and disability football; for example, investment in an artificial pitch or mixed coaching programme will benefit all groups within that community. Between 2017-21, Sport England will be investing £2.6million for the development of talented women and girls.

Sports: Finance

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with UK Sport on the future sustainability of sports which do not currently receive any funding.

Tracey Crouch: I discuss the financial sustainability of sport regularly with UK Sport and other stakeholders: Sport in this country is supported through a mix of exchequer, lottery, commercial, membership-driven and other funding. UK Sport is committed to ensuring that the impact of its decisions on athletes, staff and sports are carefully and sensitively managed, and will work closely with all sports who, following recent investment decisions, will no longer be in receipt of investment on an appropriate transition plan for athletes and staff. Most recently for the Beijing 2022 investment decisions, UK Sport have made a transition fund of circa £1.5 million available and plans for each sport to access this will be developed in partnership with the relevant home country sports institute. UK Sport reviews its in-cycle funding decisions every year, as part of its annual reporting requirements. This means that the door remains open to sports where they can demonstrate increased medal potential. UK Sport's Medal Support Plan invests in athletes in otherwise unfunded sports who have had significant and consistent world level success. UK Sport's consultation on their future investment principles post-Tokyo 2020 will engage with stakeholders and the wider public. Sport England lottery and exchequer investment to support grassroots sport and talent remains unaffected by funding decisions made by UK Sport.

Gambling: Advertising

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to limit children’s exposure to gambling adverts during live sporting events.

Tracey Crouch: There are strict controls on the content of all gambling advertisements, including broadcast adverts. Gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with the advertising codes, which aim to ensure gambling advertising does not appeal particularly to children or young people or exploit vulnerable people. TV adverts must be pre-cleared by Clearcast and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acts on complaints and proactively checks the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising requires all TV and print adverts to carry an 18+ or ‘no under 18s’ message. As with advertising, sponsorship arrangements must be socially responsible and must never be targeted at children. Operators’ logos must not appear on any commercial merchandising which is designed for children, including replica football shirts in children’s sizes. We considered advertising as part of our Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility and published our response in May. The Review looked at the existing protections around gambling advertising and set out a package of initiatives to strengthen them further. These include tougher guidance from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on protecting vulnerable people, with further guidance on children and young people due later this year, and tougher sanctions for operators who breach advertising codes.

Olympic Games 2012

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 30 October 2017 to Question 109351 on Olympic Games 2012, if he will provide an update on what proportion of the assets at the Olympic Park have been sold; what revenue those sales have yielded; and what further such sales of assets are planned.

Tracey Crouch: The London Legacy Development Corporation, the body responsible for the regeneration of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and surrounding area following the London 2012 Games, owns the assets on the Park and is responsible for their disposal. To date the Legacy Corporation has entered into agreements for the development of three housing neighbourhoods on the Park – Chobham Manor, East Wick and Sweetwater – for which it has so far received £49 million in deposits and land receipts. In addition the Olympic Park Legacy Company, the Legacy Corporation's predecessor, sold land at Sugar House Lane near to the Park for £19.5m in 2011.   Total revenue to date is, therefore, £68.5 million. Future receipts will be generated as the housing sites under construction are built out and agreements are entered into for the development of additional housing sites at Stratford Waterfront, Pudding Mill and Rick Roberts Way. The Legacy Corporation granted a long-term lease in 2014 for the site of the former Press and Broadcast Centre, Here East, and long-term leases will be let to the institutions involved in the planned culture and education district (East Bank) located on the south of the Park.

Broadcasting

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has for the future relationship between the EU and the UK broadcasting industry.

Margot James: The UK is committed to seek the best possible arrangement for broadcasting that will work for UK businesses and audiences. As set out in the Brexit White Paper, we cannot be part of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) if we are not part of the EU. As a result, the Country of Origin principle, which allows audiovisual services to obtain a broadcasting licence in one Member State for all their channels and services across the EU, will no longer apply. However, the UK will continue benefiting from the European works status, which will enable us to co-produce with EU Member States and count towards quotas. The details of the future relationship between the EU and the UK on broadcasting depends on the exit negotiations, and our negotiating teams continue to work at pace to ensure that these are finalised by October.